Ben recognized the voice right away.
It was Mog! There was a two-headed dog by his side.
"What are you doing here?" Mog demanded.
"I couldn't sleep," Ben said quickly. He landed in front of Mog.
"I was just flying around Monsterville."
"Just flying around?" Mog echoed.
He narrowed his eyes and moved closer to Ben. "Winnie loves to fly.
I bet you're looking for those two missing brooms to impress her!"
Ben was surprised that Mog had guessed the truth so quickly.
He backed away from the big monster.
"No, I'm just flying around," he repeated.
Suddenly Mog smiled. "I'm just kidding," he said.
"I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, not one single monster!"
"Why is Mog being so friendly all of a sudden?" Ben thought.
He was suspicious, but aloud he said, "I won't tell."
"Come closer," said Mog. "I have to whisper so no one will hear."
"But there's no one here but us," said Ben.
"You never know," said Mog, glancing around.
"There could be spies on either side of the fence."
Ben hovered so he was at eye level with Mog.
"Closer!" hissed Mog.
Ben moved closer.
"I've been looking for the missing brooms too," Mog whispered.
"I think people are stealing them."
"What?" Ben felt his eyes widen. "Why do you think that?"
"I was sneaking around in People Place the other day," said Mog.
"I saw two brooms on the roof of a house.
I couldn't climb up to get them, but I could clearly see 'MA' on the handles."
Ben peered at Mog in the moonlight. Was he telling the truth?
"Why would people steal the brooms?" asked Ben.
"And how could they make them fly?"
"I don't know." Mog shrugged. "Maybe it's because the brooms are magic.
The people are probably jealous and want to learn how to fly them.
And that's why the brooms are crashing all over the place.
The people don't know what they're doing."
Ben still didn't trust Mog.
"If people did steal the brooms, why did they put them on a roof?
That doesn't make sense."
Mog shrugged again. "They probably just thought it was a good hiding spot.
After all, who would think to look up on a roof?"
"That makes sense," said Ben.
"So did you tell Mr. Freaky you saw the brooms?"
"No," said Mog. "I didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking around People Place."
He paused and seemed to think for a moment. "You're a ghost, though.
You could easily fly into People Place and get the brooms back."
Ben looked suspiciously at Mog. Could he really trust this monster?
"Listen," said Mog. "If we get those brooms back, we can put them in the broom closet.
Then, as long as they don't disappear again, Mr. Freaky will probably change his mind about the Monster Mash dance.
And you know Winnie will be happy."
Ben thought about this. Mog might be telling the truth.
Then again, Mog was probably lying. Maybe he wanted to get Ben in trouble.
Mog certainly wouldn't want Winnie to feel grateful to Ben.
Still, it couldn't hurt to fly over People Place just to see the brooms, could it?
Finally Ben nodded. "Okay, I'll do it. Where's the house?"
"Awesome," said Mog with a grin.
"It's a big house on Main Street. It's only a few blocks from the fence.
The house is yellow, and it has a tower. You can't miss it."
Ben took a deep breath. "I'll be back soon."
"I'll be waiting right here," whispered Mog as Ben flew off.
Ben couldn't believe he was actually flying over the fence and into People Place.
On the other side, he looked around.
Without any people, the town looked a lot like Monsterville, with schools and stores and parks.
Still, Ben knew he couldn't spend too much time looking around.
If he got caught, he'd be in serious trouble.
Ben flew a bit farther and found Main Street.
It was lined with houses, and cars were parked along the street.
He quickly spotted the yellow house with the tower.
He flew over it, but he didn't see any brooms on the roof.
"Mog definitely lied to me," thought Ben.
There were no brooms from Monster Academy here.
Ben was hovering outside a window when he noticed a young boy inside.
The boy was fast asleep in bed, hugging a giant stuffed teddy bear almost as big as Ben.
Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound from back by the fence.
A couple of lights in nearby houses blinked on.
The boy sat bolt upright in bed.
He stared directly at Ben and shrieked, "Mommy! Daddy! A ghost!"